Among The Neshelim

Among the Neshelim

by

Tobias Mastgrave

Published by Tobias Mastgrave

Smashwords Edition

Copyright 2011 Tobias Mastgrave

This book is available in print at most online retailers.

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

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Cover Art by Katbird Designs

Brushes for Cover Art by Obsidian Dawn

Editing by Katherine Beich

A Special Thanks to All of my Test Readers

To all those who have inspired, encouraged, and improved my writing. You know who you are, and you know that I love you.

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Table of Contents

A Note on Pronunciation

Chapter 1 – Keber’She’Nesheph

Chapter 2 – Me’edbar’arot

Chapter 3 – Be’enot La’anoach

Chapter 4 – Migdol Satar

Chapter 5 – Tohu’vabohu

Glossary of Terms

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A Note on Pronunciation

Among the Neshelim, along with other stories featuring the Neshelim, has some oddities in pronunciation. Firstly many words in the language used by the Neshelim have a strange syllabic pronunciation which avoids the use of familiar diphthongs. In these words an apostrophe is used to note a break in syllabic structure or a slight pause in pronunciation. A name such as Amon’hur would be pronounced Amon, followed by a slight pause of about half a breath, then hur. Similarly the name Be’enot La’anoach would be pronounced Be, half breath pause, enot, La, half breath pause, anoach.

Secondly vowels generally should be pronounced using their shortened vocalizations and ignoring the normal lengthening rules of the English language. Thus in Be’enot both e’s would be pronounced with the short eh sound rather than the long ee sound. Thirdly the letter construction ch in Neshelim/Yeter/Habacheram names signifies a deep throat rasping guttural sound common to Middle Eastern languages. Thus Habacheram should be pronounced Haba, deep throat rasp, eram.

Lastly the letter q, when used in a Neshelim word, should be pronounced as an elongated k sound. Haqadesh, therefore, would be pronounced Hakkadesh.

There are also changes in pronunciation in words used by the Longminjong. Most notably specific letter combinations will often represent sounds not intuitive to the English reader. Zh should be pronounced Dj, so the word Zhong would be pronounced Djong. Similarly the letter q is pronounced as Ch so Ziangqi would be pronounced Ziangchi.

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Chapter 1

Keber’She’nephesh

Behold that city which rises, like a midnight stone from the everlasting sea of sand. That place of power in which dwell the deepest of all truths. I think that were it me, I should look into that truth and be blinded, rather than turn away. – From the personal journal of Habin bar Huchem of the Haphim

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4th Day

The Season of Seed

431st Year of the Reign of Abin-Thul

I write this journal in full knowledge that I may not survive my journey, and some record must remain to relate this most rare of opportunities. I have, through the request of the god-king Abin-Thul, been allowed to accompany a merchant of the Neshelim back to their priestly city of Keber-She’Nephesh for the purpose of examining their priestly rites, arcane ceremonies, and other practices of cultural significance.

I feel that I must, in case this journal is read by one to whom I am unknown, give some brief summary of my worthiness for this task. I was born into the highest class among the Longminjong aside from the Children of the Dragon. My father was the high priest of the dragon temple in the capital city of Kongwei. My mother was a priestess in the order of Shu at that same temple. I began my studies in Fa de Shu and quickly mastered the principles of Fa de Shu, followed by Fa de Mu, and Fa de Di. For those who know not the ways of the Longminjong it is worthy to note, and I say without pride, that I am considered something of a prodigy. It is rare for a priest to master even one of the Ways, much less three.

I have studied the arcane for the last thirty-five years and I have been privy to the rituals of many religions and cults. I have seen the bloodthirsty rituals of Shoujich among the Saru and the wild celebrations to Zainu among the Yamakuni. I have collected tales about the cult of M'Kari in the far northern jungles and was once allowed to take part in a Merin ritual to Kelukemalu. Throughout my studies I have noted, to the great consternation of my superiors, that while the god-king Abin-Thul lives among us and protects us with his awesome power, his priests are noticeably less potent than those of other gods.

However, that scholarly dispute is not the purpose of this journal. I must admit that it has been some few days since the start of my journey, and I can only hope to record everything of significance which has happened since. I left Kongwei four days past on the first of the season in the company of a Neshelim by the name of Hamin Bar Kobath, a trader of glass, precious stones, and ornaments for the body, accompanied by his band of slaves and guards. I will tell you that being the only non-slave human in the company has been...strange. The slaves treat me with all deference but they look upon me with great awe and, at times, fear. I think that they have not seen many free men of their own kind before. The merchant's slaves are predominantly human, though he keeps two Kovathi for the lifting and carrying of heavy merchandise.

Though the attitude of the slaves gives me a vague sense of unease, mostly I believe because I cannot help but see myself as one of them – Hamin’s guards fill me with a much more palpable terror. No other race or creed of which I know can command the dead to rise and walk, nor are they so obsessed with beauty as to treat the dead in the way of the Neshelim.

Allow me to explain myself. Hamin's guards are walking skeletons, built of brightly polished bone with polished steel armor somehow affixed to their frames; never in my life have I seen so much of that alchemical wonder. In the forehead of each stands a precious gem, usually an emerald or ruby. In the eye sockets sit the other gem, whichever was not placed in the forehead. The captain of his guard, however, has a diamond inset in its forehead which shines brightly, containing a light of its own, and in its eyes are two perfect pieces of onyx. These creatures have an indefinite and haunting beauty, though quite horrible in nature when deeply thought on. I believe that the captain is the only one of the things that is capable of speech. His ‘speech’, however, is more of a haunting vocalization that does not seem to come from the thing itself, but instead from all around me. I do not think it possessed of any great intelligence…at least it has not shown such in our brief conversations, and I assume the others are even less capable of independent thought...though, perhaps the dead simply have little of which to speak to the living.

On that first day we crossed the valley all the way to the low pass into the mountains in the far northwest of the kingdom. The speed and endurance of the Neshelim horses amazed me; to be able to cover a three day journey between sunrise and sunset...I have never seen the like. That first night we camped in the shadow of the mountains. The sound of steel grinding against steel, and sometimes bone, kept me awake for much of the night, and I was tired when we set out the next day. Again the Neshelim horses kept up the brutal pace their master set for them, seemingly without effort. In fact it was not until we were high in the mountains that our pace slowed as the carts began to struggle with the difficult mountain terrain. Even then I believe the horses could have continued their awesome stride without rest had the carts not threatened to fall apart.

The slaves continued to watch me as though I was some sort of lesser god, or perhaps I should say a ghost. I cannot tell what they think of me, though at times I fancy that they are glaring daggers at my back, and that, at other times, they look on me with a distant longing. I believe that, to them, I represent something which they have only imagined but never known...which I suppose I do.

I slept poorly again the second night, the sound of Hamin's guards marching their rounds did not allow me any ease. By morning on the third day, I was exhausted. Hamin found me a place in the back of one of the carts and mixed me a tea of some unknown recipe. I cannot be sure, and it may simply have been my exhaustion playing tricks on my mind, but it seemed to me that Hamin was eyeing me with a butcher's eye as he mixed the tea. It seems that I was asleep before I even finished, for when I awoke the cup had fallen from my hand and spilled its remains on the pillows beneath me. I discovered quickly that under the influence of this tea I had slept away the entire day and most of the night besides, and the members of Hamin's caravan were just rising to break camp this morning.

As I write this we have cleared the mountains and entered the vast desert which comprises the mighty Neshelim Empire. The day begins to wane and yet we continue to travel. I am told by one of the slaves, who all continue to treat me as though I were something other than human though more or less I cannot say, that we will continue to travel through the night and rest during the day until we reach our destination. This seems strange to me, but I suppose that I must trust the wisdom of my host in matters relating to his own land.

I am unsure how often I will write in this journal. I have attempted to give copious review of my thoughts and impressions over these first few days of my journey, but I do not intend to be so thorough in the future. I do intend to share every pertinent detail which becomes apparent and I expect that my entries will become much more common when we arrive at Keber-She’Nephesh.

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9th Day

The Season of Seed

431st Year of the Reign of Abin-Thul

It has been a few days since I last made entry into this journal. I must first note that I continue to be amazed at the horses used by Hamin. In a mere four days, we have covered a distance some two to three times the breadth of all the land ruled by the Longminjong. At first, I suspected that these horses were some form of animate corpses similar to Hamin's skeleton guards. However on the morning of the sixth day, when we stopped to rest, I had the opportunity to examine one of them at some length. I found that blood flowed through its veins and its heart beat in the same manner as any living being.

Two days later I had the chance to speak with Hamin about this. He was reluctant to answer and even when I pressed him I found his answers...vague. From what I have managed to discern from my examination of the horses, my conversation with Hamin, and my questioning of the few slaves I can convince to speak with me at length, the horses seem to be of some very rare superior breed that has been altered by the magic of Neshelim priests through several generations. It seems that Hamin's father acquired a mated pair of these beasts at great cost, though I know not of what kind. From his words I infer that the cost must have been much more than mere funds could supply. The horses which Hamin uses in his caravan are the decedents of this mated pair. It also awed me when I learned that his father obtained this mated pair some four hundred years ago, shortly after the god-king Abin-Thul gained his throne. I must admit that, while I knew the Neshelim were much longer lived then a human, this casual mention of the life-span of Hamin’s father shocked me.

There are two other things of note that have happened since I last wrote herein. Although I hesitate to write of either of them for neither reflect kindly upon me. We have had fresh meat in our meals since the first day of the journey. While unusual I thought this to be nothing more than another trick of the Neshelim. I have seen, in well-packed boxes, some substance which radiates cold, and a strange white mist or smoke continually billows off of it. I can only assume that this is some magic of the Neshelim for the preservation of foods over long journeys. Between the mysterious nature of the horses, the unnerving attitude of the slaves, and the disturbing presence of Hamin's guards, I thought little of this additional oddity. It was not until the fifth day of our journey that I discovered, through an offhand comment by one of the slaves, the true nature of my meals.

As I was preparing to eat on the fifth day, I overheard two of the slaves talking. One was saying to the other how unfortunate it was that they had lost a fellow servant, a man by the name of Akishi, to their master's anger. The other responded by mentioning that not only had they lost an able laborer, but that some of his meat had been improperly preserved and was beginning to spoil. It took me a moment to process this comment after which I immediately confronted and questioned both servants. It seems that, on the evening before our journey began, Akishi had somehow displeased his master. Hamin ordered him slaughtered and preserved for meals during the journey.

This revelation left me understandably sick, and I have refused to take anymore meat for the duration of the expedition. However what has caused even more disruption to my peace of mind was the seeming...normality of it all. The other slaves saw no perversion in consuming one of their own and actually felt thankful that their master was allowing them to partake in such a treat. The slaves spoke, and this is one of the very few conversations of any great content that I have managed with them, at length about the generosity and ease with which their master treated them. As I said, this does not shine kindly upon me. However I only consumed human flesh unawares and have refused to do so once I learned of its nature. Understandably the whole affair still twists my stomach some four days later. I hope that perhaps I will be able to forget it in time.

The other note I feel I must make here has not been any singular event but a growing ill ease since we entered this desert. As I mentioned in my first entry, I have seen much and I do not consider myself to be a man of weak constitution or of slight will. However I have noticed a growing feeling of fear ever since we left the mountains. On the first day this feeling was so weak that I did not even notice it; however, it has grown quickly. I often find myself listening in the night for the distant sound of metal on bone or the soft laughter of a woman. While the first obviously comes from the continued presence of Hamin's skeletal guards, I can in no way explain the second.

I am also haunted by terrifying dreams in which I am pursued through the desert by some nameless, shapeless horror. I dare not look around lest it catch me, but I know it is there nonetheless. I wake often from these dreams and have managed little more rest these past few nights than I had before Hamin gave me his mysterious tea.

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10th Day

The Season of Seed

431st Year of the Reign of Abin-Thul

It has only been one day since my last entry but I felt that I must record this as soon as possible. We have arrived at Keber-She’Nephesh. My first sight of the city, if it may be called a city, was from afar off. I thought it nothing more than an oddly small mountain in the middle of the desert. It was not until we drew closer that I realized this mountain was, in fact, a massive, dark stone into which had been carved a city. I am told that the stone is black basalt. The city itself lies mostly inside the stone, with only the entrances carved into the base. As the mountain rises out of the sand, I cannot guess how high, portions of it have been shaped into windowless towers. These towers rise out of the unworked stone at seemingly random points along the mountain’s surface and some are connected by what I must assume are covered bridges.

It awes me that such a thing could exist; an entire city carved out of a single stone. How this might be possible is entirely unknown to me. Even how a single stone of such size could exist, or how it might be transported into the midst of the desert, defies all explanation. However I have been able to detect no fittings of block on block. In fact not even the slightest crease where two blocks might be fitted together is evident.

I feel that I must make a side note here for there was an acute strangeness about the city which troubled me greatly. Keber-She’Nephesh rises out of the sand as though it were a natural formation. However, in all my travels, I have never heard of a mountain of black basalt, or of any single stone of such momentous size. There are also no other mountains or hills in the region. While from a distance the city seems to rise naturally out of the sand, as we approached and entered it, I could see that the sand does not touch the city itself.

As we entered the grounds of the city, we crossed a short but very wide bridge over a seemingly bottomless chasm. The black basalt of the city continued into the desert floor but the sand of the desert would not touch it. It was this effect that created the chasm, which the bridge spanned. The chasm was an empty space, descending for as far as the eye could see and perhaps five paces across, between the stone of the city and the sand of the desert. It was as if the sand were being held back from the city by an invisible wall. Similarly I have not seen anyone sweeping or otherwise cleaning away sand that should be blown into, or onto, the city by the wind. It seems obvious to me that the city itself, in some unknown way, repels the sand of the surrounding desert. I mention this because it strikes me as extremely strange and worthy of note.

Another oddity I noted, before I move on to a description the city itself, is the lack of animal life. Though I previously made mention of the strange noises that have disturbed my sleep since we entered this vast desert, I